


Involvement

by arsenicgraffiti (anachronist)



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:18:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12708516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anachronist/pseuds/arsenicgraffiti
Summary: Nii gets employed.





	Involvement

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on lj/ff.net in 2006, edited.

  
To Ukoku, Gyoukumen's involvement with Koumyou's death was an unexpected surprise. Unexpected, but not unwelcome - it was rather convenient. He had, after all, been wondering why the sutras were targeted. Now, two years after the attack of Kinzan temple, the answers were literally laid out before him, neatly stated and carefully worded in a contract written with enchanted ink. The agreement was magically binding, with death as a penalty for breaching certain clauses.  
  
The scientist appreciated the challenge this potential threat presented. Already, he was thinking of possible ways to circumvent it.  
  
A slender and well-manicured finger tapped the edge of the scroll. "What's your answer?"  
  
He looked up at the hand's owner. Her youthful face, he thought idly, would wrinkle easily if she kept up that brisk and strict attitude of hers. He could already see traces of faint lines on her forehead... but that could just be his imagination.  
  
"Well?" Dr. Huang asked, keeping one hand on the document and the other on her hip, and her restraint from from tapping her foot impatiently was rather obvious. "Gyoukumen-sama doesn't wait for others, Nii-hakase. This is the fourth time I've had to draw up a contract to satisfy both you and my employer, and it's remarkable she hasn't sent one of her assassins to kill you for your insolence. Please, make up your mind."  
  
Nii Jienyi - he changed his name soon after disappearing from the temple - tapped his chin thoughtfully as he went over the terms again. This _was_ a marked improvement from the first one, which demanded that he concentrate all his energies on the revival project. Now, not only did he have the time to play around with side projects, he would get _paid_ for it. After all, as he reasoned to Huang during their previous meeting, it was possible that he might discover something new and useful while he experimented; after all, important scientific breakthroughs, such as penicillin and vaccination, were discovered through serendipity. Yes, this one was almost satisfactory. It also guaranteed more than sufficient funding, virtually unlimited test subjects, and previously inaccessible information.  
  
However, one thing was still missing.  
  
"Shall I now negotiate for paid holidays?"  
  
Predictably, Huang exhaled in frustration and stormed out of the room, the scroll wrinkling in her tight grasp, and firmly shut the wooden door behind her.

Nii chuckled. Oh, he was going to enjoy his new job. While re-reading his old books was a passable activity, it got boring after a while. It would be a pity to die of stagnation at this point when the next stage of his game with Koumyou was just beginning.  
  
As he got up from the black swivel chair he was sitting on and stretched his slightly stiff limbs, he began to mentally list the things he would bring with him to Tenjiku. It was time to move on.

  
  
  
A fortnight later, Nii took his first steps in Houtou castle to meet his employer. The position of Gyoukumen's throne on a highly-raised platform was meant to intimidate. The machine behind her that housed her lover's corpse added to the grim effect.

He found the set-up rather comical.  
  
It was readily apparent that Gyoukumen was a vain, self-centered creature. The way she held herself displayed her tendency to overpower others. Her posture on that throne, cross-legged and laid-back, indicating comfort with her high standing - ah, but the image was only effective, really, if one was unaware of her status as concubine rather than the lord's wife. 

Jealousy, ambition, and spite: three vices typical of those in her insecure position. She was one who was used to manipulating others - but that didn't mean she herself was immune to influence.  
  
She extended an imperious hand with well-manicured claws, and the movement may very well be a few notches down from Rasetsunyo's reputed grace. "Move closer."  
  
Nii's smile turned inward as he ascended up the platform steps, his eyes hidden from view by the glare of electric lamps reflected on his rectangular eyeglasses. "As you wish."  
  
He noted that, from the platform, those standing below were exposed to the harsh light from the ceiling. It far easier to observe them from the shadows, where the contrast sharpened one's focus.  
  
The strong grip on his jaw distracted him from his thoughts, and he allowed Gyoukumen to inspect his face. A small 'pop!' that echoed throughout the vast chamber when the demon twisted his head to the side. A few millimeters more to the side and an upward pull of his head might suffice to sever his spinal cord, if she so chose.  
  
"Stiff neck, I see," she murmured to herself before setting her hand down on the armrest. Then, in a loud voice: "I take it that you find the details of our arrangement satisfying?"  
  
The scientist pushed his glasses up his nose, the light obscuring his gaze. "Of course. You are most generous to accommodate, Gyoukumen-sama."  
  
Gyoukumen propped her chin on her knuckles and eyed him in amusement. "Ah, but it is worth it. You are, after all, a very accomplished individual. I have seen your previous work, and trust that you will produce more than satisfactory results."  
  
Nii bowed. It was not shallow enough to be perceived as an insult, nor was it too low to give the impression of excessive subservience: a calculated expression of humility that both he and his employer knew he did not have. "I am but a lowly scientist who merely reports what possibilities can be brought into existence."  
  
"How charming." Gyoukumen turned to the other two who were standing in front of the platform - Huang, and an old youkai wearing goggles. "Both of you, this man will be the heading the revival project."  
  
Nii bowed a second time. "Thank you, Gyoukumen-sama, for honoring me with this task. I look forward to working with you and with my colleagues."  
  
Gyoukumen laughed and sent him off with a languid wave. "I'm sure you are. Go, now - and I expect an evaluation of the facilities by next week."  
  
A third bow, and Nii descended the steps, face hidden in shadow. Soon enough, those claws would willingly tie the strings on his toys.  
  
Once out of the throne room, he hummed a tuneless song as Huang lead him through a metal doorway that lead to the laboratories and the offices, their third coworker trailed beside him in amiable silence. It would be a long time before the preparations would be complete, but Nii considered himself a very patient man. Besides, he'd guaranteed there would be things other than this project to keep him busy.

One of them was in front of him.  
  
Earlier, he didn't fail to notice Huang's stiffness when Gyoukumen ordered him to approach. The changes in her body language were slight, such as the clench of her left hand hidden in her coat pocket, barely noticeable until he focused his attention on the movement. There seemed to be a direct proportion between the level of her agitation and the increase of his and Gyoukumen's skin contact, and the tension she continued to carry was quite the contrast to her earlier movements when she escorted Nii to the throne room.  
  
"Naa, Huang-hakase, does my appointment distress you greatly?"  
  
"What do you mean?" came the biting reply.  
  
"Well." Nii combed a hand through his gelled hair, mulling over his next words. "You seem rather stressed right now. Is there anything I can help you with?"  
  
"It's nothing." The clip-clop of her heels quickened.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, doctor, I am sure."  
  
"Are you really, really sure?"  
  
" _Yes_."  
  
"Are you really, really, _really_ sure?"  
  
"Argh!" She stomped off in the direction of the first lab.  
  
Beside Nii, the old youkai chuckled. "Don't mind her temper. I noticed that she always gets riled up if anyone apart from the servants and the royal family stand in close proximity to Gyoukumen-sama."  
  
Nii blinked and pushed up his glasses. _Oh_. "I see," he murmured, an amused smirk forming on his lips.  
  
Well. Now, _there_ was one way of alleviating boredom.


End file.
